Fear is a serious issue that lot of people are dealing with constantly. Sadly, many have allowed their lives to be gripped by that monster to the extent that it tremendously influences their whole perspective toward life, their abilities, and the future. The big issue is that fear is a potential hindrance that can literally hold people back from ever coming out of their comfort zone in order for them to do what God wants them to do.
The bottom line is that you can never reach your full potential into God, or become whom He wants you to be in Him without coming out of your own comfort zone. Meaning that you will have to challenge yourself if you want to truly stand out of the crowd. In short, it is something that we have to overcome as children of God, so that we can live the kind of life that He desires for us to live by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Bear in mind, fear itself is rooted on a lack of faith in the Word of God as a result of focusing on ourselves too much. In other words, it’s rooted on insecurity. Upon examining carefully what the Bible has to say about that issue, it’s quite easy for us to come to the obvious realization that fear doesn’t come from God. Based on researches that have been conducted within the Word of God about fear, it’s been concluded that the word “fear not” has been used hundreds of times all throughout Scripture.
Why People Are Fearful
There are so many factors that can explain why people are fearful. However, the truth is that people who normally struggle with fear on an ongoing basis simply allow unpleasant life’s issues, disbelief about their ability to do something, what they don’t have, being afraid of making sacrifices, along with uncertainties about the future to dominate their way of thinking in such a pervasive manner.
When we focus excessively on the things of this world, what we don’t have, and life’s bad circumstances, that will undoubtedly have a direct impact on us. The direct repercussion of such tendency is that our core belief mechanism will be shaken greatly and eventually become as fragile and volatile as the things that our minds are set on constantly.
It’s quite easy to notice the clear difference there is when we focus on the things above as Scripture tells us in (Colossians 3:2). When we do that, we look up to God to take control of everything frightening we’re going through by acknowledging our own inabilities to deal with them. We look up to God to deal with all the uncertainties pertaining to the future. Then His peace which surpasses all understanding will guide our hearts and our minds in Christ.
We Need To Focus on God.
Our life as humans is very fragile (Psalm 103:15-16), so are the things of this world. Meaning that focusing on the things that are already fragile by nature will not give us the type of stability and lasting satisfaction we’re looking for. This leads us to think that our focus must be placed on someone who’s able to satisfy the very desires found within us.
The very things that we’re prone to rely on for sustenance and security purposes are just temporary, whereas the desires found within us can only be satisfied by an eternal being. Having said that, God must be the person that our entire focus must be centered on if we truly want peace, joy, and confidence to reign in our lives.
When we embrace God in such a way that reflects whom He is, any type of fear that has gripped us will be driven away. Admittedly, it’s not easy to take our focus away from the issues that we’re struggling with because of their abilities to completely seize our whole attention, but that can be done in the event we’re willing to acknowledge our inabilities to cope with them through the means of handing them over to God.
God Has Given us a Spirit Contrary to Fear
I know that everyone has had their own share of experience with fear during their lives. Therefore, we cannot get away with the fact that fear is part of life itself. Moreover, it is part of our human nature, which can literally make it so pervasive. But let’s look at the first verse below found in (1 Timothy 1:7) to get an idea about what God thinks about fear and how we can respond to it.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).
… Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever (Psalm 125:1).
…Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm (Isaiah 7:9).
First and foremost, living our lives in a fearful and hopeless condition like people who don’t even know God doesn’t bring Him any glory. It can also lead to more problems down the road because this is the moment where we are more prone to make crazy mistakes due to desperation. Doing so is a complete disregard toward the rich promises that God has made us throughout His Word.
The fundamental of fear is based entirely on taking our eyes away from who God is by focusing instead on how precarious a particular situation is in connection to how we feel. In that case, it becomes all about how we feel in response to our issues instead of what God says. Fear is also a very powerful weapon the enemy is using in order to intimidate us to doubt whether God cares about us.
Our responsibility is to depend on God on the ground of His promises found in His infallible Word by faith. This Scripture verse found in (2 Timothy 1:7) is a great verse that we should rely on in order to fend off fear. Whenever fear comes up, we should know right away that it doesn’t come from God.
Instead, He has given us His own Spirit whose purpose is to empower us to live a purposeful, peaceful, confident, and joyful life through Christ. Lastly, Jesus didn’t die for us, so that we can continue to live in fear because that’s indicative of His death being powerless in our lives.
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